Strong support on the back of ECB President Mario Draghi’s outline of an aggressive measure to stem financial collapse

Markets across the financial landscape are seeing strong support on the back of ECB President Mario Draghi’s outline of an aggressive measure to stem financial collapse in the euro region’s peripheral economies. The bond-buying program has a new moniker, “Monetary Outright Transactions”, and will focus on short-term borrowing costs of countries like Spain and Italy which, like their benchmark 10-year borrowing costs, have soared to unsustainable levels in recent months. There are no limits on the amount of bond buying that will take place but Mr. Draghi did say the bond buying will end when objectives are met or countries fail to comply with certain requirements. The announcement caps off a little more than a month of anticipation following comments from the ECB President that he would “do whatever it takes” to save the euro. With that behind us, investors will now focus on employment figures ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. Employment is a key factor in the QE3 equation as the Fed cited unemployment rates as a cause for concern. Earlier this morning, ADP announced private sector job growth had risen by more than 200,000 and jobless claims were reported to have fallen by 12,000….both better than expected. The U.S. government jobs data will be released tomorrow. Gold pushed above the $1700 level as the Euro strengthened on the back of the ECB announcement. The yellow metal is now trading at $1706 while silver trades around the $32.70 marks. Platinum continues to be supported as conditions in South Africa, regarding wage disputes, persist and threaten to get worse. The white metal is now trading at ~$1588. Have a great day!